If I See You Again
by Claykalin
Summary: AU based in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A chance meeting on a train gives Hermione a secret friend for the year, but how well is it going to go when Hermione really needs to be by Harry's side as he fights for his life in an ancient wizarding competition?
1. Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter

**If I See You Again**

**Chapter One - A Chance Encounter**

_**A/N**: Hi there! Welcome to a somewhat short story of Hermione / Blaise in their fourth year at Hogwarts. From the prompt "I will hurt you if you ever talk to me again" found at topic/44309/24890408/1/_

_I feel like writing of how this story came about, but feel free to skip all the italicised stuff and continue on to the story :)_

_So whilst looking for prompts I found "I will hurt you if you ever talk to me again." and from there I thought hmmm a forbidden love story - Gryffindor and Slytherin? I almost wrote a Dramione story, but I thought it would be funner / easier to use Blaise because he's just such a nice clean slate and I can make him anyone I want him to be. Plus I enjoy playing around with his Italian-ness._

_I was trying to write a one-shot, but I just can't do it! I need character development of some kind, and I love writing out every little thing that happens, and then I accidentally write a flashback and before I know it there's another couple thousand words... ok so yep I shall stop complaining. I don't think this will be too long though, five chapters maybe? This one's just a short intro to get the ball rolling._

_So yeah. I hope you like it! Please review I'd love to hear what you think :)_

_**Disclaimer:** The following story is based on the excellent works of J.K. Rowling, they are not mine. Not including the characters you don't recognise, which are mine._

_**Also**: Being Australian, I may have a few spelling variations to what you may be used to, just skim over them and try not to let them get to you. But let me know if you think there's something wrong :)_

_..._

"Hermione, we're up at the second train carriage!" Harry called. Hermione nodded to him and gave a final hug to her mum.

"Be safe, sweat heart," her mother said, smiling down at her daughter and pulling a small piece of fluff from the shoulder of her jumper.

"I will mum," Hermione nodded. "I'll see you for Christmas?"

"Of course, we're going to visit your cousins this year!"

"Should be exciting," her father nodded, "I haven't seen their new house yet."

"Alright, don't go without me!" Hermione began to make her way to a carriage door as a whistle blew. "You are _not allowed_ to go without me!"

"We won't!" her father called through the crowd. Let it not be said Platform 9 ¾ was ever quite come 11:00am, September 1st.

Hermione stood by the door window to wave to her parents as the train began to move. When a turn in the tracks blocked her parents from view, Hermione left the window to look for her friends.

She couldn't quite tell on the platform, but she thought she was on the fifth carriage. It shouldn't be too hard to get to Harry and Ron.

_Sigh_...

For the umpteenth time, Hermione flattened herself to the corridor wall as some younger students ran up and down the hallway. Each time, they would be dressed in Bulgarian or Irish Quidditch colours, and shouting as they re-enacted scenes from the Quidditch World Cup Final.

As she began walking again, however, another group came from behind her and knocked her into an empty compartment.

She hit the floor her, and scowled as she sat up and rubbed the elbow she'd landed on.

"Comfortable there, Granger?" A voice asked.

Hermione looked up to see a dark boy in Slytherin robes curled up on the luggage rack with a book.

"More so than you," she retorted, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face.

"Ever tried charming that bush out of your face?" The boy said. "Might make you look a little prettier."

"I'm sorry, I don't recall asking a _Slytherin_ for appearance advice." Hermione said, sitting down and rubbing her elbow as the stinging continued.

"You alright?" The boy asked, his voice a little kinder. He scrambled a little before jumping down and landing deftly on his feet. "Where's it hurt?"

"It's fine," Hermione said, brushing away the boys' reaching hand.

"No, come on, I can help," he said, his hand reaching once again for her arm.

"Why would you help?" She asked, looking at him and seeing for the first time the kind, eager-to-help expression the boy wore. "Who are you?"

"Really? You don't know who I am?" The boy laughed as he took her outstretched arm and rolled back the sleeve to see the damage.

"Should I?" She asked, before wincing as he applied pressure to various points and found the sore spot.

"I would like to think so, we've shared a few classes over the years." His face turned to confusion as he pulled out his wand and tapped her arm. "_Vespi Dolet_."

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked, her attention back on her sore elbow which had glowed a faint pink.

"You're bone's been knocked slightly out of place. It's easy to fix but it's going to hurt a little hurt, ok?"

Hermione flexed her fingers before making a fist. "Ok, do it," she said, squeezing her eyes shut.

The boy whispered something, and she felt his wand trace the side of her elbow, and then felt her bone click back in to place, sending a sharp jab down her arm to the tips of her fingers.

"It's alright," the boy said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. "You can open your eyes now."

Hermione did so, to see him standing up, retrieve the book he'd left on the luggage rack, and take a seat across from her.

"So, you really don't know who I am?" He asked. He didn't seem offended as he tucked the now shrunken book into his robes.

"I'm sorry but no," she said, looking down before glancing back with a thought. "You do _look_ a little familiar."

"Well in that case, hello!" He stood up and gave Hermione a deep bow, "Blaise Zabini, at you service, signora."

Before Hermione could stop herself, a giggle left her lips. "You're Italian?"

"My father was," he answered, sitting back down. "Didn't really know him, but I've been to visit Italy before and met other Zabini's. I stay there during the holidays with my sister sometimes."

"That's amazing," Hermione said, "I've been there once with my parents, we went on a backpackers tour and hit Milan, then down to Rome, the Vatican and back up to Venice. It's beautiful."

"It is," Blaise nodded, looking out the window. Hermione watched him for a little while before something in his face changed and he looked back at her. "Don't you have friends waiting for you?"

"Oh crap," Hermione exclaimed, standing up and looking at the sliding door. "They'll be wondering where I am! What's the time?"

"Half past, you should be fine." Blaise answered, his voice cold as he kept his gaze firmly out the window.

"I'll, um..." Hermione began, torn between leaving Blaise alone and finding her friends. "I'll see you at school, yeah?"

"Sure," he said half-heartedly. She could see him hurting, but he _was_ a stranger, so she left him to find her friends.


	2. Chapter 2: A Sleepless Night

**Chapter Two - A Sleepless Night**

_**A/N: **Surprise! Sorry I've taken so long to update, I've just been a little stuck on how exactly to continue... and, you know, end of semester exams..._

_Last one was yesterday, yeah I think it went pretty well, thanks for asking :P_

_Anyways, I hope you like what I've come up with! Please review I'd really appreciate it! :)_

...

Hermione struggled to sleep.

Hours ago, Harry had been announced as the unprecedented fourth champion, and Gryffindor House had overlooked that detail and simply thrown a nice long Halloween Party in celebration.

_I guess any excuse will do these days._

Hermione had had little stomach for it and soon left for the comfort of her dorm. Once in bed, her mind filled with frights and worries.

_Harry? Fighting in the Tournament? How can Dumbledore even let this happen? It's too dangerous!_

She tossed and turned as the night wore on, the energy building up inside of her. The room was beginning to suffocate her. She needed to _pace_ and she couldn't do that here, Lavender and Parvati would wake and start gossiping, and Hermione would never get to the thought train she sought.

She needed to be alone, and the only place she was ever truly alone to think was at the Clock Tower. At night, people snuck around to hook up in empty classrooms or secret passageways, and they would stay away from an open area like the one Hermione enjoyed.

Harry depended so much on his Invisibility Cloak that he'd never bothered to dabble in concealing magic. Hermione, on the other hand, enjoyed midnight strolls alone and was now well-practiced in the Disillusionment Charm, the Defocus Charm, and a few shadow charms.

She slipped out of bed, grabbing a coat as winter was already well on its way, and headed downstairs. The common room was mercifully empty of students, though the place was hardly _tidy_. Before opening the Fat Lady's Portrait, she cast a spell to force the occupants of a portrait into a five-minute, dreamless sleep. The Fat Lady could very well already be asleep, as most portraits would be, but the charm also made sure she wouldn't know the door had been opened.

Hermione encountered no trouble on the Grand Staircase, but in the fifth floor corridor she heard someone approaching the gateway. She squeezed herself into a corner by the door and cast a Defocus charm on a Ravenclaw Prefect as he came around the corner. An Unfocus Charm would just make her blurry in the boy's eyes and only draw his attention, but a Defocus Charm drew his mental attention away from her. He already seemed tired enough as it is, so her charm worked easily and he continued past her out into the Grand Staircase.

Hermione made it to her nightly haunt with no other trouble and she was able to relax by the window and enjoy the silence, broken occasionally by the hooting of owls and various growls from the Forbidden Forest.

Until her worries reached the front of her mind once again.

Hermione had done a little research into the tournament before the Naming of the Champions, and what she found _scared_ her. Her beloved _Hogwarts: A History_ had briefly mentioned the Triwizard Tournament in an ancient relations section, where it wrote that Durmstrang students fought against a horde of Acromantulas just to win the right to put their name in the Goblet of Fire.

It was in other books where she found more details and eye witness accounts of the tasks ahead. One year, the competitors had to escape from small chamber-like vessels made from dragon skin and stone that were dropped into rivers and slowly filled with water. The Beauxbatons champion drowned, and the other two escaped to find themselves being attacked by magically-enlarged sharks.

"You look a little worried," observed an distantly familiar voice. "I didn't know _your_ life was on the line."

Hermione spun around to find Blaise Zabini sitting on the wooden railing around the Emerald Bell, his sly grin barely visible in the low light of the waning moon.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, slightly annoyed at herself for not noticing him earlier. What if he'd been a Prefect?

"Wanted to talk to you, what do you think?" He jumped off of the rails and took a couple of steps towards Hermione. "You looked a little worried when you left the Great Hall, figured you'd be up here earlier, to be honest."

"And how exactly did you know I'd be here at all?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms and trying to make her face as angry as possible.

"Come on, Granger, I'm a Slytherin, give me a little credit."

"So you just follow me at night? What is wrong with you?!" She covered her mouth as her voice rang out through the empty court yard below.

"If you're going to attract attention like that, maybe we should find somewhere else to chat?" Blaise stuck his elbow out like a gentleman, and Hermione gave a curt nod before taking his arm and allowing him to lead her away.

She tried very hard not to smile. No one ever treated her like this, like she was important, all she had to do was pretend who it was.

"So-" Blaise began.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" Hermione asked. "We haven't really talked since we met on the Hogwarts Express."

"It's a long story, but uh, I've been busy."

Hermione was silent after that, angry that he seemed to think it was perfectly fine to just ignore people and not explain why. Perfectly. Fine.

"How are your classes going so far?" He asked politely.

"Good," Hermione replied, nodding as though he could see her. Then again, he's probably watching out of the corner of his eyes. "Have you finished the Herbology essay yet? I haven't found any good references for the Highland Vine yet, and it's variant contains a similar poison antidote to that of the Red Caster Bushes so I thought it would be important to bring up."

She felt him laugh but no sound escaped his lips. "I have, yes. I didn't mentions the Highland Vine though, I'll see what I can find and let you know."

"And the Potions essay? The history of Burn Relief Potions? I suppose you've finished that?"

"I have, actually, a few friends and I did it yesterday in the library. I saw you there, too."

"I saw you laughing, not studying."

"Ah, but they're one and the same thing if you know the right way."

Hermione sighed. "Where are we going?" She asked.

They'd taken a number of twists and turns through the hallways and narrow staircases, though she noticed he stayed away from the Grand Staircase, where most of the Prefects patrolled.

"Nowhere in particular," Blaise answered, "although eventually we'll get you back to your common room; you really shouldn't be wandering around on a night like tonight when most of the professors are walking about in a daze."

"Oh? And since when are you in charge?"

"Since I'm not the one who failed to notice someone sneak up on them. I heard the floorboards creak under me but you didn't notice."

"Well I'm sorry for loosing myself in the sounds of the night." She said cordially.

"This way," he said suddenly, pulling her behind a tapestry into darkness. "_Lumos_."

His lit wand revealed a corridor Hermione did not recognise. It's walls were lined with more tapestries depicting waterfalls and beaches, and an open area to the left held a near full bookshelf, a small desk and stool, and two cozy arm chairs.

"Welcome, Miss Granger, to the Highrell Study."

"I… didn't know this place existed." She slowly walked over and sunk happily into the chair.

"Yeah, it's a Slytherin hide out, away from the confines of the dungeons. They get a little claustrophobic for some students, so we put this together." Blaise tapped a lamp on the desk and it lit up before he whispered _nox_ to his wand and took a seat beside her, pulling a book from the shelf once he'd sat.

"Why are you showing it to me then; aren't you afraid my Gryffindor-ness will contaminate your sanctuary?"

"No, you won't be able to find it again anyway."

"Are you sure about that?" Hermione asked, curling her legs up beneath her.

"Very." He said, not looking up from his book. "Tell me, what floor are we on?"

Hermione thought back to the twists and turns he'd lead her on, which included a number of stairwells. "Fourth."

"Nope, try again."

She racked her brain, sitting up straighter and feeling her eye twitch. "No, we're definitely on the fourth floor; we passed the Hospital Wing not too long ago."

"Whatever you say, Granger." Blaise grinned. "Based on you knowledge that this is, in fact, the fourth floor, what did the entrance tapestry display?"

_Dammit_. "I don't know; I wasn't looking at the walls when you suddenly pulled me behind here."

Blaise closed his book. "So you don't know what the entrance looks like, do you know the password?"

"You didn't say any password!" Hermione cried in frustration.

"Because I didn't _need_ to say it. Haven't you ever heard of non-verbal spells?" Blaise laughed before taking in Hermione's blank face and realising what he'd forgotten. "Oh right, you're a Muggleborn."

"So?" Hermione asked, daring him to continue where Pansy Parkinson had many times before.

"It just means you don't have as much an exposure to the variance of magic as someone like me does. Reading only gets you so far."

"Yeah, yeah, what's a non-verbal spell?"

"What it sounds like, a spell without an incantation. I don't think they're in the Hogwarts curriculum until sixth year. It hides a spell's identity from an opponent or companion."

"So you opened this room with a non-verbal password? Why don't they teach us that from first year? It would be much easier to protect the common room passwords if we didn't say them aloud."

"There's a bit of a mental strain associated with them, it's not easy for younger students with less magical capabilities."

"You're distracting me." Hermione thought suddenly. Her eyes narrowed at Blaise, who admittedly looked a little surprised before giving a dramatic sigh.

"In the Clock Tower… You looked like you could use a distraction. Thought I'd give you one." He gave a small smile, and Hermione felt her face warm but she tried to relax her face and held her eye contact. "You're cute when you're not worrying about your boyfriend."

"Harry's not my boyfriend." She said quickly.

"Could've fooled me." He winked. _He's joking. He's proven himself to be too observant. He's just teasing_. "I should probably get you back; we've been up for three hours."

Surprised, Hermione checked her watch to read a quarter past two. "It's Tuesday morning! I've got classes soon! I've got _homework_ to read over!"

Blaise chuckled. "Calm down, let's go. There's a way out through these passages that'll take us to a tapestry in the Corridor of the Fat Lady. Is your common room far from there? I know it's up there somewhere; you guys have a tower don't you?

"Uh, yeah. I mean, it's a couple of corridors away, but I'll manage." Hermione gave a stiff nod as she stood. Blaise raised his eyebrows at her but didn't press for information. He just held his arm out once again and led her away with another of his cheesy smiles.

...

_**A/N:** Tada! Hope it was okay. Have a good one :)_


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